Reusable collapsible core

ABSTRACT

A reusable core that is suitable for having paper or other sheet material wound thereon. A multi-sectioned core is provided that is easily assembled. Interlocking segments that provide a pivot are held together by a sliding pin inserted therein. The pin is preferable held into position by use of a snap ring or other similar fastening arrangement. By removing one pin between adjacent interlocking sections, the core collapses inwardly thereby permitting easy removal of the core from any remaining sheet material that must be discarded. The sheet material is held onto the core by means of a strip of double sided tape until the core is wound several times to keep the sheet material firmly in place.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/378,176, filed Mar. 3, 2003, now abandoned.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of winding cores, in particular, winding cores for use with paper, paper board, or other sheet material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Sheet material, such paper, fabric, plastic sheeting and the like is typically wound onto paper cores. For example, in the direct mail industry, paper mills wind their stock forms onto paper board cores for shipment to a direct mail printing facility. The forms come in various sizes; generally 25,000 forms or pages per roll. The press department then punches pin feeds into the paper. The press department then prints anything that may be consistent on the form such as letter head or form numbers for any given customer. During this process the form is unwound from the shipped roll and then wound onto another paperboard core. The core that came with the paper is customarily discarded when there is still some paper left on it . . . any where from 1″ to 3″ thickness of paper and then the core and paper is customarily discarded.

After the press punches pin feeds, prints letter head and rewinds the sheet forms, the roll is transferred to the laser printing department where the roll is unwound and rewound onto yet another core during the personalization process. (Names, addresses, phone numbers, letter information, etc.)

A direct mail facility that produces between 30 or 40 million names/addresses per month goes through between approximately 2,500 to 3,500 cores that are thrown into bins for recycling. Furthermore, there are more than 2,000 rolls with cores on the production floor waiting to go through the process at any given time.

Currently, winding cores are made of paper board and paper products. Their reuse is limited to several times, recycling and/or refurbishing the core so that it can be again used for winding material thereon. Double-sided tape is wrapped around the core in a “candy cane style” to adhere the sheet material to the core. Once the paper is completely wound onto the core, wooden plugs are pounded into the ends of the core to prevent it from collapsing from the weight of the load that was would upon it if the rolled material stays on the core for a considerable amount of time.

There is not found in the prior art a reusable core that will eliminate the need to throw away these rolls and will also the need to wrap double sided tape around the core to attached the sheet material to the core for winding.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an aspect of the invention to provide a reusable core that is suitable for having paper or other sheet material wound thereon A multi-sectioned core is provided that is easily assembled. Interlocking sections that provide a pivot are held together by a sliding pin inserted therein. By removing one pin between adjacent interlocking sections, the core collapse thereby permitting easy removal. The sheet material is held onto the core by means of a strip of double sided tape until the core is wound several times to keep the sheet material firmly in place.

This aspect of the invention are not meant to be exclusive and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art when read in conjunction with the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the preferred embodiment of the reusable collapsible core in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the core with one pin removed showing how the core is able to be collapsed.

FIG. 3 is isometric bottom view of one section of the core.

FIG. 4 is an end view of one section of the core.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the core.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the core along line BB as shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the core along line AA as shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a detailed view of the pin locking assembly.

FIG. 9 is an isometric view of another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10 is an end view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a view of the invention without the key section in place.

FIG. 12 is the two halves of the interlocking sections of the core separated and apart from the key section.

FIG. 13 is an isometric view of the extractor mechanism.

FIG. 14 is a detailed top view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 15 is a detailed view of the spring used in an alternative embodiment for sheet material attachment.

FIG. 16 is an end view of the preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 17 is a detailed view of the sliding pin used to activate the material attachment slat.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a reusable collapsible core that is useful for winding paper forms or other sheet material thereon. The core is preferably made of plastic but metal or hard rubber could also be used. The life span will be measured in years with little or no maintenance required.

As shown in FIG. 1, invention 10 is assembled from at least substantial identical segments 11 to form a cylinder. Each segment can be manufactured from the same material or different materials. As noted above, plastic is the preferred material which is either injection molded or extruded. The hinge joint assembly 16 is designed to fit loosely in order to allow for expansion and contraction of the cylinder outside diameter for the purpose of both allowing for the maximum cylinder circumference while winding rolled sheet materials and to allow for collapsing the invention for removal so that it can be used again. Locking pin assemblies 14 lock each segment 11 to another segment 11 immediately adjacent to it as shown. Once one of pin assemblies 14 is removed, the segments 11 are easily collapsed so that invention 10 can be removed from waste sheet material that is wound thereon as shown in FIG. 2.

The interior of invention 10 is provided with a plurality of detents 43 as shown in FIG. 2 which permit increase the structural integrity of the core without adding additional mass or cost of material. As shown, segment 11 is provided with interlocking joint assemblies 16 which mesh with opposing joint assemblies 16 of an immediately adjacent segment 11.

When joined together, the segments 11 form a cylindrical tube. As shown in FIG. 4 each segment 11 has an arc of a circle having an outer radius R1 and an inner radius R2. Radius R2 is selected to fit onto the printing mandrel that is being used. The difference between R1 and R2 is selected based on the strength that the core must provide in to prevent it from collapsing until one of pin assemblies 16 is removed from opening 17 so that invention 10 may be easily withdrawn from the remaining sheet material wrapped around the core. Then, the sheet material, usually paper, is discarded and invention 10 may be used again.

Referring to FIG. 5, a top of invention 10 is shown with one complete segment 11 and the segment 11 immediately adjacent to it, attached with pin assemblies 16 (shown in detail in FIG. 8).

As shown in FIG. 6, the cross-sectional view taken along line BB noted in FIG. 5, shows the plurality of detents 43 which to make each segment 11 egg-crate shaped in appearance as viewed from the inside. Each pin assembly 16 is inserted through openings 17 in the respective segment 11 to hold each segment 11 in place while sheet material (not shown) is wound onto surface 19. FIG. 7 shows a similar cross-sectional view taken along a different section line AA in FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 8, a detail view of pin assembly 16 is provided. Pin 23 is fed into openings 17 of interlocking segments 11 and then held firmly in place via a snap ring 25 which fits into circumferential channel 29. Snap ring 25 is easily removed using snap ring pliers (not shown) which are well known in the art. A quick release pin 23 would not use snap rings 25 but merely could be fitted with a structure well known in the art which easily allows pin 23 to be pulled out such as a handle or a loop, an end having a right angled section, etc. in order to collapse the core 10.

Referring to FIG. 9, an alternative embodiment of invention 10 is shown. In this embodiment, invention 10 is made up of three sections. The two larger pieces 12, 14 of the cylinder are formed to loosely lock into each other thus providing hinge 16 which runs the entire length of the cylinder. The key section 18 runs the entire length of the cylinder and is designed to slide out of the cylinder in order to allow the remaining pieces to collapse. The key section could also be made as the larger sections and held together using the locking pins and quick release pin as noted above.

FIG. 10 shows an end view of the cylinder. Male interlocking section 12 is provided with a locking bead 26 that fits into groove 28 of the female interlocking section 14. Bead 26 and groove 28 run the entire length of the interlocking sections to ensure that the two sections are locked together. As noted above, bead 26 and groove 28 are designed to have space 34 (see FIG. 11) between them so that it is easy to collapse these two sections toward one another when it is desired to removed the invention from material that has been wound thereon.

Key section 18 slides into male and female interlocking sections and is held in position by keyways 32 with engages slots 30 to form the complete cylinder. The inner surface of the key section 18 and interlocking sections 12, 14 are provided with a liner 24 which is preferably a rubberized material. Liner 24 helps hold invention 10 firmly onto a mandrel (not shown) when sheet material is to be wound onto or off of the core. Two lever arms 22 are fitted immediately adjacent to each end of the cylinder preferably on interlocking section 14 as shown. However, lever arms 22 could also be attached to interlocking section 12 or even key section 18 if it is made sufficiently large to accommodate this mechanism. Each lever arm 22 is spring actuated (see FIG. 15) via spring 50 and is connected to a sheet material attachment slat 38 (see FIG. 14) which is used to attach the sheet material, usually paper, that is to be wound on the cylinder core.

As shown in FIG. 11, once lever arms 22 are pulled away from interlocking section, the end of the paper or other material that is to be wound thereon is fed under attachment slat 38 and the lever arms 22 are released so that material is held fast and ready for winding. An indent for slat 38 (shown in FIG. 16) is provided so that slat 38 is flush and so that material can be more easily wound thereon.

FIG. 12 is the two halves of the interlocking sections 12, 14 of the core separated and apart from the key section 18. Optionally, slots 42 are provided on provided on one or both of sections 12, 14, either completely as shown or partially so that sufficient room is provided to permit lever arms 22 and attachment slat 38 to run the entire length of the cylinder core. The slots 42 decrease the surface area that is in contact with wound material and thus facilitate removal of the key section. Also, slots 42 also decrease the amount of plastic material that must be used to form invention 10.

As shown, hand hold 20 is provided so that core can be pulled from any remaining sheet material that is wound on the core. If removal is difficult, then extractor 44 (shown in FIG. 13) is inserted into the core and hooks 46 engage recesses 40 so that the core can be pulled free from any material wound thereon by handle 48.

Referring now to FIGS. 16 and 17, another embodiment of invention 10 is shown This embodiment differs only in embodiment shown in FIG. 9 in that the method for attaching the material that is to be wound on the core. In this embodiment, slat 38 is held on the core by the attachment mechanism shown in FIG. 17. Slot 56 in sleeve 51 is threaded into immediately adjacent to one end of the core. Another substantially identical sleeve 51 is threaded into the other end. Into each sleeve 51, locking pin 52 is inserted. Spring loaded ball bearing 54 is used to releasably hold locking pin 52 into sleeve 51 via slot 56. D-shaped pull 53 is bent at approximately 90 degrees relative to the longitudinal axis of pin 52 and is used to attach to slat 38 using techniques well known in the art. In this manner, slat 38 can be extended as shown in FIG. 16 so that the material that is to be wound on the core can be inserted under slat 38 and then slat 38 can be slid back into place to hold material until a sufficient number of windings is wound thereon.

The illustrated embodiments of the invention are intended to be illustrative only, recognizing that persons having ordinary skill in the art may construct different forms of the invention that fully fall within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein. Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the descriptions hereof 

1. A reusable collapsible core for winding sheet material thereon so that said wound core can be placed in a press having at a mandrel with an outside radius and length, said core comprising: first, second and third arcuate segments with each segment having a predetermined inside radius and a longitudinal axis, wherein the predetermined inside radius and the longitudinal axis of said first, second, third arcuate segments corresponds to the outside radius and length the mandrel of said press such that when said first, second and third arcuate segments are pivotaly attached together to form said core, said core with the wound sheet material can be inserted onto the mandrel of the press; wherein said first and second arcuate segments have substantially the same chord length and said third actuate segment has a chord length that is substantially less than the chord length of said first and second arcuate segments; and each arcuate segment has a first inward pivotal edge having a plurality of pin openings and a second inward pivotal edge having a plurality of pin openings along the length of said segments wherein a first inward pivotal edge mates with said second inward pivotal edge such that said pin openings are aligned along a pin axis that is parallel to the longitudinal axis of said core when said arcuate segments are pivotal attached to one another; and a first locking pin dimensioned to slidably fit within said pin openings such that said second inward pivotal edge of said first arcuate segment is pivotally locked to said first inward pivotal edge of said second arcuate segment; and a second locking pin dimensioned to slibably fit within said pin openings such that said second inward pivotal edge of said second segment is pivotally locked to said first inward pivotal edge of said third arcuate segment; and a quick release pin dimensioned to slidably fit within said pin openings such that said second inwardly pivotal edge of said third segment is releasably attached to said first inward pivotal edge of said first segment such that when said core and sheet material is removed from the mandrel of the press, releasing said quick release pin enables said second inwardly pivotal edge of said third segment to pivot toward the central axis of said core, thereby collapsing said core inward, thus permitting said collapsed core to be easily removed from the sheet material wound thereon.
 2. The reusable collapsible core of claim 1 wherein each said arcuate segment has a thickness and an inside surface, wherein the inside surface of each said arcuate segment further comprises a plurality of rows and columns of detents to provide an egg-carton-like pattern with each of said detents having a depth that is a substantial portion of the thickness of each segment of said collapsible core such that said core uses substantially less material to construct than if said segments were solid yet still provides sufficient contact area between the inside surface of said core to be supported by the mandrel of the press.
 3. The reusable collapsible core of claim 1 wherein said locking pin is locked by having a circumferential channel at each end and pair of snap rings that are placed in said channels on each pin once said pin is inserted within the openings.
 4. The reusable collapsible core of claim 1 wherein said quick release pin is a rod that can be easily pulled out of said openings to release said third segment from said first segment. 